Chapter 9 Summary

The summer before Henry Lamartine Jr. leaves for Vietnam, he and his brother Lyman buy a red Oldsmobile convertible. Lyman, to explain his ownership of the car, has always had a talent for making money. When he is fifteen, he starts working at the Joliet Cafy washing dishes, and he is gradually promoted until he earns part ownership in the place. At sixteen, Lyman owns the whole restaurant, but the entire operation is lost to a storm that rages through town. Before the insurance money runs out, Lyman has enough money to buy the red Olds with Henry.

The brothers first see the car in Winnipeg. It is parked with a For Sale sign, gleaming with promise in the sunlight. For no particular reason, they both have enough cash on them to buy the car, and so they do. In a few moments...